King Bruce (3 June 1922 – 12 September 1997) was a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian composer, band leader and musician.

Background

Composer, arranger, band leader and multi-instrumentalist made his mark on Ghana's dance band highlife tradition in a variety of ways. Born in

James Town, Accra Located directly east of the Korle Lagoon, Jamestown and Usshertown are the oldest districts of Accra, Ghana and emerged as communities around the 17th century British Gold Coast, British Fort James (Ghana), James Fort and Dutch Gold Coast, Dutch ...

,"King Bruce Profile"
, Ghanaweb. Gold Coast (present-day Ghana).

Early life

In secondary school, King encountered and learned principles of Western music as well as songs from other Ghanaian ethnic groups, especially

Twi Twi (; ) is the common name of the Akan literary language of Asante and Akuapem. Effectively, it is a synonym for 'Akan' that is not used by the Fante people. It is not a linguistic grouping, but more of a common name used by inland Akans as ...

and Ewe. But his parents did not envisage a career in music and sent him for two years to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to study with an eye to a career in the civil service. There, however, King learned to play the trumpet. When he returned to

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

in 1951, he fell into the city's fledgling highlife scene and soon found himself playing in Teacher Lamptey's Accra Orchestra.

The Black Beats

The next year, King co-founded the group whose name, if not its membership, would remain with him all his life: The Black Beats. The name reflected a heartfelt loyalty to African rhythms and feelings in his then colonial context. However, the swing sounds coming out of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

definitely qualified as African, and swing was an important element in the Black Beats' sound, which featured a strong vocal lineup. In 1961, nine Black Beats members defected to form the Ramblers, and King Bruce had to find new members. The new member were all young musicians - the most notable was a young trumpeter Anthony Foley from Mr Hammond's Brass Band. He became the lead trumpeter but later left for England. Other members of the group were Bengo Blay sax, Stanley Lokko sax, Jimi sax, Jerry Bampoe guitar. George Ofori and Quarcoo were vocals. Six years later, he was forced to choose between his

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

band and his civil service career. His pocketbook dictated the decision, and he handed off leadership of the band to another member.

Union of Ghanaian musicians

During the 1970s, King got involved in organizing unions of musicians. He would be involved with three during his life, notably the Musician's Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), formed in 1974, and still going today. In 1977, he retired from the civil service and returned to music. But his later years were most noteworthy for the work he did in teaching other musicians. King's house in

, became the home base for as many as seven bands, all of whom benefited from his experience, leadership and instruction. When he died in 1997, he left behind many protégés, and his work will be felt in Ghana for years to come. John Collins and Banning Eyre wrote an article and biography on his life.

References

Sources

Afropop.org article

Ghanaweb.com article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, King 1922 births 1997 deaths Alumni of Achimota School Ga-Adangbe people Ghanaian musicians Bruce family (Ghana) Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom